The Panthers lost for the first time in three games, 2-1 to San Jose Sharks. Roberto Luongo made 30 saves. Forward Radim Vrbata returned to the Florida lineup after missing five games because of a facial injury. The Hurricanes are 1-3-1 in their past five games after losing 5-1 at the New York Rangers. Scott Darling made 21 saves on 24 shots. Carolina defeated Florida 3-1 on Nov. 7 at PNC Arena.
Players to watch
Panthers forward Jonathan Huberdeau has 25 points (eight goals, 17 assists) in 25 games. Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho has not scored in four straight games after a five-game goal streak.
They said it
"We've been good on back-to-backs. We're getting in (to Raleigh) late. We've got to roll our bench and stay disciplined and keep the game 5-on-5 as much as possible." -- Panthers coach Bob Boughner "You've got to have a short memory. We've got to stay out of the (penalty) box a little bit. We've got to be able to play a four-line game in order to be successful." -- Hurricanes coach Bill Peters
The Panthers are 3-2-0 in the second game of back-to-backs. ... Williams got his 700th NHL point when he scored against the Rangers. … The Hurricanes have scored at least three goals in seven of their past eight home games.
